Animal Research (IACUC)

In order to ensure the humane care and use of live, vertebrate animals, UNCW has its own federally mandated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). According to UNCW IACUC policy, all research projects conducted by UNCW researchers (including student research) involving live, vertebrate animals must be approved by the IACUC. Animal, as defined by the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, is defined as any live, vertebrate animal used or intended for use in research, research training, experimentation, or biological testing or for related purpose. UNCW will not accept funding for this type of research from an external agency without documentation of IACUC approval.

Faculty members from a variety of scientific and non-scientific disciplines and at least one community representative serve on this university committee to review and approve research projects involving live, vertebrate animals. The Research Integrity Office (RIO) is the administrative office that coordinates the activities of the IACUC.

NEW REQUIREMENT for animal researchers effective immediately:

Researchers who use live vertebrate animals in research are now required to obtain certification from a medical professional prior to initiating animal use activities to identify occupational health issues, if any. Please see the IACUC Forms section below to obtain a health screening questionnaire, which must be completed by the animal researcher and submitted to a medical professional for evaluation. Students who work with research animals may submit their completed forms to the Abrons Student Health Center. The Health Center will not bill students. Faculty and staff who work with research animals may submit their completed forms to Medac Urgent Care on Shipyard Blvd or to his or her personal physician. When faculty and staff use Medac Corporate Health, Medac will invoice UNCW.

The IACUC will require health screenings to be completed prior to reviewing a protocol form.

ABRONS STUDENT HEALTH CENTER TIP: Students may be evaluated at the Abrons Student Health Center. If you oversee a student who must be evaluated, one of our researchers suggested that you might want to instruct him/her to schedule the appointment first-thing in the morning to avoid delays in getting seen by medical staff. The appointment should take only about 20 minutes, but some students have waited up to 40 minutes before seeing medical staff.

MEDAC TIP: A personal visit to Medac is not necessary. You may email the completed risk assessment form to Medac at corporatehealth@medachealth.com with the subject line "UNCW Health Assessment for Animal Research" to receive a quick response.

If you prefer contacting Medac in other ways, here is their contact information:

Send form by fax to: 910-791-5359

Schedule an appointment at the Corporate Health office at: 910-452-7000

Send form by mail or drop off in person to: Medac Corporate Health, 4402 Shipyard Blvd, Wilmington NC 28403 (if personally visiting, this is next door to the urgent care office)

IACUC Meeting Schedule and Submission Deadlines

The IACUC typically meets twice each semester to review protocols subject to full committee review. The next IACUC meetings will be scheduled in Fall 2019. Dates for these meetings will not be known until August 2019. Please email IACUC staff at IACUC@uncw.edu if you need assistance.

INITIAL SUBMISSION DATE

REVISIONS DUE

IACUC MEETING DATE

TBD

TBD

TBD - mid September 2019

TBD

TBD

TBD - mid November 2019

Please note:According toUNCW IACUC policy, when an IACUC protocol is initially submitted, it is forwarded to the attending veterinarian (AV) for review. The AV will send the principal investigator a consultation form within a few days. The researcher should take the AV's comments under consideration and revise the protocol appropriately. If the researcher makes revisions to the protocol, the revised protocol must be submitted by the scheduled revision date to assure review during the desired meeting date. Researchers should plan accordingly to avoid delays. The IACUC hopes this new procedure will allow for smoother reviews during scheduled meetings.

IACUC INSPECTION DATES - FALL 2019

TBD - Off campus facility inspections

TBD - On campus facility inspections

IACUC Forms (PDF)

For best functionality, we recommend that you save this form to your computer, and open with Adobe Reader. Mac computers will default to open this in Preview, which will not allow you to type in the form. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your computer, it is free and available at https://get.adobe.com/reader/.

IACUC Training Requirements

The online training course, "Working with the IACUC", provided by the University of Miami's Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) is required for all members of the research team. Other courses specific to the research may also be recommended. If you experience difficulty using the CITI website, please check to see if you are using a current version (issued within last 3-4 years) of one of the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari.